Donatello

A Sculpting Genius

       

  

         Donatello, one of the most prominent artists of the early Renaissance, introduced new styles such as linear perspective into sculpture. Born in Florence in 1386, Donatello grew up in an age of progression in the sciences and arts and witnessed the works of innovators like Lorenzo Ghiberti, an innovative Florentine sculptor.¹ Known for having a forceful personality, he devoted much of his time and efforts to studying ancient works of the Greeks and Romans and strove to revive classical styles.² From his work on small public commissions such as the David to his large-scale decorations of sacristies such as the one in Florence, Donatello compiled ancient sculpting traditions and his own genuine practices.³ By the time of his death in 1466, Donatello, along with Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti, made the necessary advancements in artistic styles and methods to eradicate the halt on intellectual progression that plagued Europe since the Dark Ages.

            Donatello commenced his sculpting career as an apprentice in Lorenzo Ghiberti’s prestigious workshop situated in the heart of Florence.⁴ While there, Donatello grew disappointed at the mediocrity of contemporary sculpture compared to the glory and prestige of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. Donatello believed that the only method to reviving sculpture in Florence lay in studying and modeling ancient works. After several years in Ghiberti’s workshop, Donatello left to pursue his own style and success. During the 1420s, he accepted several small-scale public commissions to maintain a steady income.⁵ The breakthrough in Donatello’s career occurred in 1409 when he produced his coveted statue David and subsequently erected the St. John the Evangelist in 1415.⁶ The David displayed the acclaimed Judo-Christian biblical figure David in a serious and sober manner. Donatello’s mastery of various materials such as clay, plaster, bronze, wood, and sandstone distinguished him from other contemporary sculptors who only specialized in one medium. As his career progressed, Donatello increased the complexity of his productions as he started his work using carving wood but later progressed to polychrome wood and bronze textiles as he refined his skills.           

             In addition to the beauty of his sculptures, Donatello’s most influential impact on the Renaissance involved his revival of ancient works and invention of new artistic styles in sculpture. Of the innovations made by Donatello, his introduction of linear perspective allowed him to connect pictorial space to narrative time.⁷ Linear perspective presented an image in which the viewer saw a 2-dimensional frame within a 3-dimensional background with its own spatial and relative relationships.⁸ Donatello gained recognition for his flattened relief technique, the emergence of individual figures clearly and logically from a shallow depth, found in the St. Mark, finished in 1414, and the St. George, completed in 1417.⁹ Credited with bringing back the ancient portrait bust, he also rejuvenated the technique of modeling polychrome stucco models.¹⁰         

The subjects and scenes portrayed by Donatello displayed the sculptor’s abilities to engulf the viewer in the reality of the sculpture. Donatello excelled at depicting emaciated images of his subjects, often exhibiting depression in faces and slouching postures. He took joy in sculpting dramas and scenes filled with violence as shown in the David.¹¹ When Donatello moved to Padua in 1443, he shifted the focus of his sculpting to the drama surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He developed a high altar complex in the Sant’Antonio, a church in Padua.¹² Upon returning to Florence in 1460, Donatello accepted his final commission for the powerful Medici family of Florence. Titled The Resurrection and Passion Pulpits, Donatello’s creations depicting the Stations of the Cross received widespread acclaim for the astonishing drama and emotion that he displayed.¹³ Placed in the San Lorenzo church in Florence, it remained the most celebrated masterpiece created by Donatello, who died on December 1, 1466.¹⁴

Michael Najem

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1 Maureen Pelta, “Donatello,” in Encyclopedia of the Renaissance, 1^st ed.

2 Ibid.

3 Charles Avery, “Donatello,” in The Encyclopedia of Sculpture, 1^st ed.

4 Pelta, “Donatello.”

5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.

7 J.A. Shedd, Famous Sculptors and Sculpture (New York: Houghton Mifflin and Co., 1896), p. 78.

8 Ibid, p. 79.

9 Avery, “Donatello.”

10 Ibid.

11 Shedd, Famous Sculptors and Sculpture, p. 81.

12 Pelta, “Donatello.”

13 Avery, “Donatello.”
14 Shedd, Famous Sculptors and Sculpture, p. 85.